Diplomatic relations between China and Japan, over a group of disputed islands, have come under a strain again, soon after a bilateral meeting.

China has accused Japan of distorting the facts over disputed islands in the East China Sea a month after a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese patrol boats, sparking a major diplomatic row.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue told reporters on Friday that Japan was turning the contested islands into a “hot topic” on the sidelines of an Asian regional summit.

Foreign ministers from Japan and China met earlier on Friday in an attempt to mend fences over the dispute, which plunged diplomatic relations between the two nations to their lowest point in five years.

China again asserted its sovereignty over the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diayu in China.